Preserving the Past: Gertrude Bell and Digital Archives with Professor Mark Jackson
In this episode of Heritage Türkiye, Mark Jackson (Professor of Byzantine Archaeology at Newcastle University and Honorary Secretary at the British Institute at Ankara) joins us to explore the enduring legacy of explorer, writer, archaeologist and diplomat Gertrude Bell and his role in the project to digitalise Bell's extensive archive, recently added to the UNESCO International Memory of the World register, which draws on her travels across Türkiye and West Asia. We also delve into the evolving role of digital archiving in historical research, examining how technology is transforming access to and interpretation of the past. The conversation also takes us into Professor Jackson’s work in the field of Byzantine archaeology. Dr Mark Jackson is Professor of Byzantine Archaeology at Newcastle University and honorary secretary of the BIAA. Dr. Jackson is also co-curator of the Gertrude Bell Photographic Archive, a UNESCO International Memory of the World archive, which includes over 8000 images mostly taken by Gertrude Bell during her travels across the Ottoman Empire as a writer, archaeologist, and colonial diplomat before World War I.
--------
32:35
Hidden Histories of Twentieth-Century Istanbul with Dr. Daniel Joseph MacArthur Seal
In this episode, former BIAA Assistant Director Dr Daniel Joseph MacArthur Seal (now postdoctoral research fellow at the Scuola Superiore Meridionale, Napoli) talks us through his research on every day life and night life in Istanbul during the early to mid twentieth century. Tune in to hear a wide ranging conversation in which Daniel talks about his work on the British occupation of Istanbul from 1918-1923, the From Enemies to Allies project which traced the evolving relationship between the UK and Türkiye from World War I to NATO allies, and his recent work on histories of the opium trade and sex work in early to mid-twentieth century Istanbul.
--------
35:39
What We Can Learn from Bones with Dr. Benjamin Irvine
In this episode, Dr. Benjamin Irvine (former BIAA Postdoctoral fellow and now Assistant Professor at Bilkent University) discusses his research on bones and what bones can tell us about how people lived in the past. The conversation takes surprising and fascinating turns drawing on irregular burials, dietary habits and whether bones can tell us about instances of murder. Dr. Irvine also makes a case for how archaeologists can be useful in crime investigations.
--------
35:03
Past and Present-day Aphrodisias with Bert Smith
In this episode, we are joined by Bert Smith, Emeritus Lincoln Professor of Classical Archaeology and Art at the University of Oxford, Visiting Professor of Archaeology at Bilkent University, and director of the New York University managed and BIAA-sponsored excavations at Aphrodisias: a site in southwestern Türkiye. Famous for its marble workshops in anquity, Aphrodisias and its quarries were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017. Professor Smith talks about what makes the ruinscape of Aphrodisias special and outlines everyday life in this site, both in antiquity and in recent past. Professor Smith also discusses the celebrated photographer Ara Güler’s evocative images of site and how they have shaped archaeological research into the site.
--------
28:25
Ancient Water Structures with Jim Crow
In this episode Professor Jim Crow, chair of the British Institute at Ankara and Emeritus Professor of Roman and Byzantine Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh talks about his research on ancient water structures and their significance for today in the Türkiye and Black Sea region. Professor Crow underlines some key issues such as the continued use of these structures throughout the centuries, their outstanding engineering and the workforce that these ambitious building projects relied on. Among the examples that Professor Crow draws on include familiar landmarks of Istanbul, such as Aqueduct of Valens (Bozdoğan Kemeri), and the Underground Cistern (Yerebatan Sarayı).
Heritage Türkiye is British Institute at Ankara's new podcast! Join Dr. Işılay Gürsu and Dr. Peter Cherry to hear about the BIAA's work across a range of fields: archaeology, cultural heritage management, history, sociology, literature, culture, and a lot more!
Ireland